Learning to love my post baby body.

I think this subject is something that a lot of expectant mums, new mums and every mum in general really thinks about (I know I sure do) and that's the post baby body. I'm 5ft10 (ish) and have always been up and down with my weight. Sometimes I was a size 12 sometimes I was a size 10 and for a little while I was a size 8 (didn't last long, thanks cake)

(Left is me at my biggest and the right is me at my smallest)

 

Since having Isla and even when It was towards the end of my pregnancy I have felt really self conscious; From the water weight around my face (Don't get a full fringe in pregnancy, it will accentuate the roundness) to the stretch marks I have been left with on my hips and stomach. I have really struggled to accept the way my body looks now to the way it looked a year ago. I used bio oil and tummy butters throughout my pregnancy and ate relatively well (23 weeks of morning sickness) but I have a mummy tummy. Its not awful, its just not what I have been used to. The first few weeks were the hardest, I didn't even want to look at myself naked in the mirror and I started to forget what I had just achieved. I had just grown a human being in my body for the last 9 months! For the last 273 days my body had been home to my little girl! and in my eyes that is pretty bloody impressive. I am starting to look at my stretch marks and my mummy tummy and I'm starting to feel proud of them. I'm not saying I'm now happy with the way my body looks, because I do want to loose the weight and get back into shape but on the other hand I am in no rush to head to the gym every day. I walk with Isla as much as I can, I have done the occasional workout from home and Tom and I have began to eat as healthy as we can (Minus this weekend.. and last and maybe the one before) We have decided to start taking Isla to swimming lessons after Easter and I am petrified to get into a pool full of people I don't know with my new body to the point I almost don't want to do it.. and then I listen to myself and I think oh god shut up Laura you're not doing this for you, its for Isla! To me that's what being a mother is all about.. not being a selfish cow. It's going to be a long journey back to loving my body completely but that's okay because all of my love is currently taken up by the little person I grew inside it.